


Diner Work

by FadingThroughNebulae



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Diners, Friendship, Gen, One Shot, Sea Salt Ice Cream (Kingdom Hearts), college students
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-24 20:21:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22063813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FadingThroughNebulae/pseuds/FadingThroughNebulae
Summary: Lea takes up a summer job to pay for college, though his attention drifts elsewhere.
Kudos: 5





	Diner Work

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lawyerdonut](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lawyerdonut/gifts).



> A short fic written on an inspirational whim. Dedicated to @lawyerdonut, for giving me all their opinions and insights on everything Kingdom Hearts. Have a Happy New Year!

All the hot water in the apartment complex was gone. Again. Lea just got home, throwing his greasy apron over one of the chairs near his fold-out card table. After waiting for the water to heat up for a good five minutes, he gave up and stepped into the shower. His breath came in gasps as he hurried to wet his hair and lather his skin with soap. He emerged shivering, his hair dripping wet and towel clinging to him.

Lea spent his last few hours of the evening sipping a mug of tea that had long gone cold, once he was finished picking through pasta leftovers. He stroked the back of his orange tabby that sat in the bowl of his lap as he listened to the chimes of the clock tower in the distance. Lea arose around dawn the next day, adorning his traditional workman’s garb of a white apron and black cap before sauntering out the door to continue the daily grind.

When he first started working at the diner, his days were consumed by busing tables. Now he slaved away behind the line, the steam hot in his face and his hair itching under the required black netting. He’d burned himself once trying to flip hash browns during his first week, but now he’d gotten use to the rush and people screaming at him to fulfill orders.

“Lea, I need that hash and eggs in a basket asap!”

“Lea, where’s that refill of coffee?”

“Lea, I said no bacon on this order! Where are your ears, boy?”

The one thing that made it all worthwhile, however, were the ice cream orders. During the hours that the diner had slowed, and the din of clattering platters mixed with idle chatter had ceased, the group of seven college kids would come in. They were younger than Lea by a few years, but they greeted him warmly all the same, with laughter and smiles. They had not learned of his name until their third visit, when Lea took advantage of the downtime in the kitchen.

He painstakingly put together seven bowls of sea-salt ice cream, careful each scoop of turquoise was formed just right, decorating them with cubed star fruit pieces and leaves of mint. When the boss had his back turned, Lea snuck out into the eating area, arms cradling the delicacies with a strong desire to serve them himself. The shock and awe on each of the teens’ faces struck a chord with him, and Lea wondered if perhaps he had found something special. This routine continued for several weeks, with the group coming in around three o'clock, and Lea offering a few witty remarks in return to their thanks.

His disjointed sense of sarcasm caused loud bouts of laughter, always drawing attention from the owner, and then earning Lea a berating and a trip back to the kitchen. As Lea slipped back into a rhythm behind the counter, he would watch the group interact at their table, with the three girls giggling while the four guys hurled chunks of fruit at each other to catch with their teeth in the air.

Before the last month of summer, they stopped coming. Lea continued to focus on the pans and griddles, flipping and serving with each _ding_ of the diner bell, but his mind felt muddled among the smells of kitchen. The sizzling of the hash browns, the bland aroma of heated waffle batter, even the bitter taste of coffee that he would sip quickly between breaks only further turned his world into a muted mess of senses. His fingers longed to touch the chill of the freezer, to grasp the ice cream scoop in his hands, to carefully slice the star fruit away from its peel. But rarely anyone would order the sea-salt special that Lea had perfected into his own. It was always one scoop with chocolate sauce and cherries, a combination that churned Lea’s stomach. The hours drew out into weeks that then progressed too fast, and the diner grew more desolate as the summer break came to an end.

Then, on a blustery day during the first week of the fall semester, seven college kids entered the diner at five o’clock. Lea watched them through the counter window as they stepped inside, just as the clock tower rang in the distance. With backpacks slung over their shoulders, they looked around the still diner with small smiles on their faces. One boy with brown hair approached the counter, pulling his wallet out of his back pocket as the rest of the group went to sit at their usual table towards the middle of the restaurant.

“What can I do ya for?” The owner said behind the register.

“Can I get seven bowls of the Lea special?”

Lea, overhearing, almost dropped the plate he was drying.

“You mean that atrocious ice cream disaster you all order every time you come in here?”

“That’s right. His signature, yeah?”

“Signature?" The owner paused. "Well, the guy who makes it is off the clock soon after he’s done with dish duty, so no can-”

“You mean he’s going home?” Sora’s face fell, and he slowly lowered the cash that he had wadded in his fist.

“That’s exactly what that means.”

“Oh,” was all that escaped Sora’s lips, and he turned away towards his friends.

“Ring them up, man!” Lea emerged from the kitchen with his apron slung over his arm, carrying a tray heavy with bowls of ice cream.

Sora gave a huge, elated smile and shoved the cash into the owner’s hand as Lea began to dole out the sweets. The group offered kind words as they accepted the bowls from him.

“Good to see you, Lea,” said Xion.

“Thanks, Lea,” said Ventus.

“Glad you’re here, Lea,” said Kairi.

Riku met Lea's face as his ice cream was set in front of him. “You haven’t moved on from this place yet?”

“Nah, you know me. Have to stick with something once I find it, right?”

Namine smiled at that, and Roxas nodded in quiet affirmation. Sora came up behind Lea and gave him an elbow bump.

“Well, I better get going," Lea said. "Homework’s not going to do itself. You all enjoy your ice cream."

As he turned to walk out the door, Sora spoke up. “Wait, Lea.”

“Hmm?” He turned to look over his shoulder, and saw the group pull up an eighth chair. Namine produced a homemade sea-salt ice cream sandwich with star fruit bits from her satchel.

“Come sit with us,” Sora said.

Lea paused. “You serious?”

“Absolutely,” Roxas said.

Lea couldn’t hide the large smile growing on his face as he approached the chair and settled down, accepting the gift from Namine. The group sat there, laughing and talking until closing time at an hour later, the sunset casting a soft backdrop through the windows of the quiet diner.


End file.
